


Sunshine on A Cloudy Day

by Cee693



Series: Iris West Week [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: #IrisWestWeek, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Iris West Week-Submission, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-19
Updated: 2017-04-20
Packaged: 2018-10-21 01:09:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10674585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cee693/pseuds/Cee693
Summary: Day 3 of Iris West Week- Iris & The Rest. Fic submission dedicated to the wonderful friendship between Iris and her fellow Sunshine twin, Cisco Ramon.Or- Two times Iris found Cisco's warm rays on cold day and the one time she was able to return the favor and keep him warm.





	1. Find me in the Rain

The first time Cisco met Iris West, he'd been blasting Lady Gaga through the cortex speakers while he sucked on three red vines.

He shuffled his feet to the beat of the pop song, trying to wake himself up after another night of restlessness and suddenly, she was there in the doorway, holding a square package tightly to her chest, looking at Cisco as if he had three heads.

"Hi!...Hello," he greeted as he fumbled for the sound system remote.

By the time he was able to turn the music off just as Gaga started singing about ‘bluffin’ with her muffin’, Iris had already backed up as if she was contemplating leaving.

“Hi,” Cisco tried again once the cortex was enclosed in quiet again and he shoved his half-eaten candy bag in their bag. “Iris, right? Dr. Wells mentioned you could be stopping by today.” He held out his hand. “Cisco Ramon.”

“I remember. From the hospital,” Iris said. She put her hand in his, but didn’t put much energy into the handshake.

“I just came to see Barry now that’s he’s all settled and set up,” she explained.

“Yeah, sure. Of course. I can show you where his room is,” Cisco offered.

Iris perked up considerably and thanked him as he led her to the med bay.

“Nothing’s changed just yet, but I can say he’s definitely in great hands with Dr. Wells and Dr. Snow. They’re two of the smartest people I know,” Cisco told her.

Iris nodded along. “I’ve heard. I’m glad they think they can help.”

Cisco agreed and when they got to Barry’s room, he shuffled his feet and said he’d be right outside if she needed anything.

Once Iris was at Barry’s bedside, Cisco hung around for a minute.

He watched her somehow light up and deflate at the same time as she took in Barry’s face. 

He couldn’t hear what she said as she held up the package in her hands for Barry to see and unwrapped it to reveal a photo of the two of them smiling.

Cisco left then to give her some privacy, making himself scarce until she parted an hour later, promising to return the next day. 

By the end of Barry’s first week at S.T.A.R Labs, Caitlin and Cisco weren’t entirely convinced Iris hadn’t been struck by lightning herself the night of the explosion.

She was a ball of energy and light, never standing too still in one place, unless she was sitting right by Barry’s bed.

And if she wasn't walking around everywhere, she talked.

God, did she talk.

She talked more than any person Cisco had ever met.

She talked about anything and everything you could think of and she never seemed to get tired.

And, almost immediately, Cisco’s first meeting with a somewhat nervous girl became a distant memory.

Later, Cisco would be embarrassed to say that he'd judged Iris incorrectly those first weeks.

He was sure that he'd seen her type a million times before.

The beautiful, charismatic girl who was probably prom queen and head cheerleader, from the way she dressed and carried herself.

Friends with the obviously nerdy guy (if Barry Allen's Facebook profile was anything to go by) who obviously liked her (again, Barry Allen's Facebook was literally 49% nerd culture references and 51% posts with Iris West or to Iris West), but somehow wasn't good enough to date for…reasons.

She was nice enough, always bringing them muffins or cookies, but her upbeat personality felt completely out of place and somewhat jarring in the despondent building that seemed to hold the lost dreams and lives of hundreds.

Iris’s cheerfulness eventually became so foreign, it got to the point where Caitlin would find reasons to leave the cortex whenever Iris was around for more than an hour.

But, Cisco hung around.

Caitlin said it was just because he thought Iris was hot.

Which was true if he were being honest, but truly it was because Iris’s voice, all sunshiny and perky, was the most effective way to drown out the sound of booming explosions and terrified screams that Cisco still heard in his head all these months later.

Eventually, Iris starting feeling comfortable enough to spend the night in Barry’s room. 

She never really asked for permission; one day she just showed up with a baggy sweatshirt and pajama pants and made herself comfortable in her usual chair and never really left.

Cisco would always just leave her to her business, but he did start to notice how she started cracking her neck more and more during the day and how she would try to rub her own shoulders discreetly.

After a few weeks, Caitlin bluntly told Iris that the chances of Barry suddenly waking up were slim to none, so there was no need for Iris to mess up her spine in a chair, hoping Barry would open his eyes in the middle of the night.

Iris was taken back by Caitlin's rudeness and quickly excused herself while Cisco bit down the lecture he wanted to give to Caitlin about her harshness.

He knew what she'd been trying to say to Iris; that she didn't have to stay over, sleep like she'd been sleeping if it hurt her.

Though Caitlin hadn't even tried to find a route of compassion when she said it, Cisco knew she wasn’t being purposefully cruel. She was just heartsick and trying to find herself again after Ronnie’s death.

They didn’t see Iris again for the rest of the day and thought she took Caitlin’s advice, but that night she showed up in her pajamas like usual and greeted both of them as if nothing happened, heading straight to Barry’s room.

Caitlin at least looked remorsefully after Iris before saying good night to Cisco and leaving.

A little while later, Cisco wandered over to Barry’s room to check in on them through the opaque windows and saw Iris in her chair, bent over Barry, her head laying steadily on his chest.

 

The next night, after having to stay later than usual at Jitters to close, Iris walked into Barry’s room and was greeted by an unoccupied hospital bed right beside his own, dressed neatly with the fluffy pink blanket and that soft pillow.

 

On the third month of Barry being at S.T.A.R Labs, Iris brought the team red wine and chocolate strawberries as a thank you for looking after Barry. 

And Cisco was just as shocked as Iris and even Dr. Wells were when Caitlin smiled a genuine, wide smile and thanked her for the gifts.

Iris sat with Barry for a few hours before she announced that she had an advising appointment she couldn’t miss.

She said her usual, chipper goodbyes and left the cortex.

"She forgot her umbrella," Caitlin realized a minute later, pointing to the umbrella Iris had put down when she handed off the dessert.

Cisco grabbed it and jogged to the elevator, hoping he could catch Iris before she got drenched in the rain outside, but when he got to the parking garage he saw her car, but no Iris.

He looked around and spotted a figure leaning heavily against the wall of the building. 

Cisco could easily make out the sobs before he reached her, even over the downpour of rain.

Her body was shaking.

Cisco didn't know whether it was from the cold or her tears. But, he didn't think twice about tentatively touching her shoulder.

Iris jerked away, startled and when she saw it was Cisco she straightened up quickly and wiped her eyes.

"Cisco, is everything alright?" She asked, worried. "Is Barry okay? Did something happen-"

Cisco shook his head quickly. "Barry's fine, Iris. I'm uhh just worried about you. Are _you_ okay? What’s wrong?"

Iris' shoulders slumped before she tried to correct herself and smile. "Nothing. I'm fine,” she assured, shaking her head as if to clear her tears away.

He tried to raked his brain going over what happened upstairs that could’ve set her off, but nothing happened out of the ordinary from the routine they’d all come to follow.

She repeated that she was okay, not even bothering to come up with a quick reason for her crying.

And just from how confidently and easy her words sounded on the surface, Cisco was suddenly hit with a new perspective of things he'd spent months overlooking.

Like Iris never actually partaking in any of the food or drinks she brought them herself. Or Iris spending ten, twelve hours at a time sitting with Barry and never once stepping out to grab something to eat.

Or her jumpiness whenever someone would address her for even the most mundane things when she was away from Barry's side. She would hear her name called and would always immediately ask if Barry was alright. If anything had happened.

And Cisco thought of how the first thing Iris did when she came each day was to go to the bathroom and fix her makeup.

Caitlin had implied it was her being a higher-maintenance type of woman, but now Cisco wondered if it wasn't from her having to hide her crying right before she came in each day.

Cisco went over what she’d said to them, in search of a clue of her feeling overwhelmed today, but he came up empty again.

She’d talked to all of them in her talkative, upbeat tone. She always did.

But, she also always listened, Cisco suddenly chided himself.

Intently and genuinely.

She listened.

She listened to Barry's steady breathing, her ear literally pressed to his chest, whenever she Dr. Wells went over his weekly progression, or lack thereof.

She listened to the daily reports that Caitlin would go over about Barry's condition and new tests she was running.

Iris listened to Cisco reminisce off-handedly about the glory days of the lab’s research and how he got involved in the program.

And looking at her with tears streaking her face and rain soaking her shirt as she tried to find her brave face again, Cisco felt ill.

He didn't want to think that the accelerator explosion had changed him like it'd changed everyone around him, but maybe it had.

Maybe it'd hardened him somehow. Made him a little more cynical, more pessimistic.

Less likely to see past shallow interaction to know if someone was truly hurting or not.

“Iris,” he started, struggling to find the words he realized he’d never actually said to her in the months she’s been around.

_“Is there anything I can do for you?”_

_“Everything’s going to be okay.”_

_“Are you okay?”_

_“I’m sorry this happened to him. And I’m sorry this happened to you, too.”_

But, somehow Iris could see what he was struggling to say and she finally dropped the wall she’d put on since she’d first stepped into the building and dropped into Cisco’s arms, no longer able to hold herself up.

“I miss him so much,” she cried. “I miss him every second of the day and I don’t know if he’s ever going to wake up, Cisco. I _need_ him to wake up.”

Cisco rubbed her back instinctively. “He’s going to wake up, Iris. He’s going to be okay.”

He leaned back so she could look at him. “He’s going to be okay.”

Iris gave a small nod and stepped back when she felt she wouldn’t collapse. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m sorry, you’re all wet now.”

“That’s alright,” Cisco assured. “My hair looks sexier when it’s curly anyway.”

Iris gave a watery laugh and Cisco held out his hand. “Why don’t you come back inside. There are warm, dry sweatshirts and coffee. Or I could make hot coco if you want?”

Iris looked between his outstretched hand and her lone car in the empty parking lot.

“We could also maybe pop open the bottle of wine you brought,” Cisco offered, hoping to sweeten the deal.

She smiled and tentatively took his hand. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s go.”


	2. Illuminate the Dark

"Hey," Iris greeted stepping into Cisco’s workshop.

"Hey, Iris,” Cisco returned. He discreetly looked around his workbench and picked up the closest thing to him. “I was actually just about to run this up to Barry,” he said, holding up an obscure-looking ball of nuts and vaults. “He said he needed it ASAP and I’m running behind."

"Barry's not here anymore,” Iris informed him. She saw right through his excuse. “He went with Wally to check out a call about a break-in on Abbott.”

She walked closer to Cisco and leaned right against his workbench, folding her arms.

"You can't keep making up excuses to avoid me forever you know."

Cisco at least had the decency to blush as he fumbled around with false indignation.

“What are you talking about? I’m not avoiding…” he started to say, but stopped when Iris raised her eyebrows.

She wasn’t stupid.

And to be honest, Cisco knew he’d been doing a poor job of dodging Iris inside and outside of S.T.A.R Labs.

They both obviously knew the reason, which is why Iris didn’t take the unanswered phone calls and abrupt exits personally.

After Barry came clean to everyone about what he saw at Christmas and after Cisco vibed Barry to the future and witnessed Iris’s death first hand, he’d had a hard time getting that image out of his head.

It’d been a week and he could still see her eyes grow wide and her body drop lifelessly to the ground.

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, running his hand through his hair. “It’s just been…”

“I know,” Iris accepted. “It’s been a rough week.”

Cisco nodded and put a hand over Iris’s when she got a faraway look in her eyes.

She looked at him and gave him a small, sad smile. “I need a favor that might make it a little worse.”

“Anything you need,” Cisco agreed immediately.

Iris straightened up and searched Cisco’s face, looking for what he didn’t know. 

But, he instantly wished he’d just followed through with his lie about needing to step out when she spoke her request.

"How does it happen? Can you tell me… how does he kill me?” she asked shakily.

Cisco shook his head firmly and tried to move around her, but Iris put her hand out to stop him.

“I'm sorry. I'm sorry to do that to you, but I need to know. I keep having nightmares about it and I know if I knew how it really happens they won't be as bad as what I’m imagining in my head. I won't have to use my…imagination. I asked Barry, but he-” her voice broke and tears flooded her eyes. 

"It's just best if I don't ask him again," she said.

Cisco didn't know what that meant, but he couldn't blame Barry for not wanting to relive what he saw a third time.

After they'd left his vibe and Barry went to stop Plunder, Cisco had discreetly made his way to the bathroom and vomited violently.

He'd hated what he saw and hated the sadness he felt whenever Iris smiled or made a joke or comforted someone on the team nowadays.

Iris was his friend. 

His good friend.

And she was with his best friend, _finally_ after years of missed opportunity and bad timing.

They were both good people who deserved the world.

They didn't deserve a ticking clock and a homicidal monster after them.

Iris didn't deserve to die. Especially not like that.

"I don't think I can," Cisco said sadly. "I think you'll regret knowing if I tell you and Barry would probably kill me if he finds out I told you."

"This isn't Barry's decision to make, it's mine," Iris said decisively.

“Iris,” he started sadly. 

“Cisco, I’m not going to beg you to tell me what you saw. Not if it’s too difficult for you, I understand. But, please don’t try to decide what’s too difficult for _me_ right now. Not now."

“Okay," Cisco agreed. “I'll tell you. But, only if you tell you me you believe Barry and all of us are going to do whatever it takes to save you.”

Iris let out a breath and closed her eyes. 

When she opened them her eyes were full of gratitude. “Okay.”

Cisco waited a moment for her to mentally brace herself before he confessed.

"He... stabs you,” he said slowly. Hoping a soft tone would somehow lessen the blow of his words. “He stands behind you on the steps of the park square over on Infantino Street and he stabs you through the chest with his claw."

Iris flinched at the word “claw.”

She nodded and her eyes grew glassy.

"Barry said he was right there, but he wasn't fast enough to save me. Is it because he's hurt? Is he dying too?” Iris asked after a pause in a thick voice.

Cisco could tell that was something that’d been on her mind all week.

He shook his head. “He didn’t seem hurt, I don’t think. Savitar was just…too fast.”

Iris nodded again and took a breath, but didn’t say any more.

Cisco squeezed her shoulder.

“Thank you,” she said sincerely, looking up at him. “I know that wasn’t easy to say.”

“You’re welcome,” he said. 

Iris flashed him a smile and started to leave the room before he called her back. “You have to say what I know is not too easy for you to say either. A deal’s a deal.”

Iris looked at him and she felt encouraged by the determination he had on his face. “I know you and Barry and the rest of the team are doing everything you can to make sure none of that happens."

“I’ve died before,” Cisco reminded her. “I vibed the timeline where Thawne put a hand through my chest. I know exactly how the pain felt. And even though I knew it wouldn’t happen in this timeline, I know the constant fear of the maybes and the what-ifs. I may not know exactly what you’re feeling right now, but I’m right here when you need to talk. Okay?”

“Okay,” Iris said. “Thank you.”

And she took him up on his offer, coming even more frequently to his workshop throughout the day, staying up on the phone with him when Barry was on duty late and she couldn't sleep at home alone, talking to him about things she couldn't yet face Barry with. 

Even Cisco found the new level of their relationship to be a two-way street as he was able to talk through a lot of anxiety and grief he’d kept buried about Eobard Thawne and what he did to him.

Eventually, Barry did turn to Cisco with fire in his eyes one day after Iris mentioned something about maybe wearing chest armor stronger than Savitar's claw.

An idea she couldn't have had unless someone told her exactly how she'll die.

But, Cisco had no regrets.

And Iris was right there to defend him and to defend her decision to know her own possible fate.

And in the span it took Barry to deflate and pull Iris close to him and whisper a tearful apology, Cisco decided that he wouldn’t just work hard to change the future, he’d work until his last breath to make sure Savitar never saw even a glimmer of light from whatever dark hell he was trapped in.


	3. You Make Me Happy When Times are Gray

"You have to stop moving or else you're gonna have a scar," Iris warned calmly.  


"I don't care," Cisco retorted.  


"Your girlfriend's gonna care when she has to wake up and be greeted by a wonky looking scar on your forehead every morning," Iris shot back.  


At the mention of his girlfriend, Cisco stilled immediately, feeling his adrenaline give way to a mountain of guilt.  


Which Iris immediately picked up on. "She's gonna be okay, Cisco," Iris comforted softly.  


Cisco sighed.  


"She will be," Iris assured firmly.  


She'd refused to think otherwise ever since she watched Cindy's unconscious body free-fall 10 feet down a rocky hillside through the S.T.A.R Labs monitors.  


"It's my fault," Cisco said sorrowfully. "I was the one who decided to follow Count Vertigo up to the top of that cliff. She was just chasing after me and got caught in the crossfire."  


"That doesn't make what happened your fault. She followed you because the two of you are a team. You would've done the same if it were her up there alone with him," Iris said.  


Cisco didn't respond, but he didn't look any less guilty.  


Iris used his stillness to quickly finish suturing his face.  


After a year of Caitlin being gone, the team had all gone through as much basic first-aid training as they could for moments like this.  


Iris put a hand on Cisco's shoulders. "She should be waking up soon. Let's go see."  


But, Cindy didn't wake up. Not that night. Or the next one or the night after that.  


By the end of the third day, Iris could no longer keep the certainty that everything would be okay.  


But, she did try to keep her optimism.  


For Cisco's sake as much as her own.  


She'd grown to love Cynthia like a sister and found her complete stillness in her hospital bed disconcerting and miserable.  


But, she stayed by Cisco's side, making sure he took care of himself; reminding him to eat, to sleep, to grab a few minutes of fresh air in between his vigil at Cindy’s bedside.  


Cisco didn’t say too much since Cindy had gotten hurt, but Iris knew he appreciated her presence. Because she knew how much she appreciated his all those times it was Barry laid up in bed with a seemingly dire prognosis.  


"Iris maybe you should come home tonight," Barry suggested, pulling her aside after she convinced Cisco to head to Jitters to clear his head and grab some coffee for himself.  


"You shouldn't sleep in a chair this many times in a row. It can't be good for..." he trailed off, hoping she got the point.  


"I can't leave him alone, Barry," Iris said resolutely.  


"I'll stay with him,” Barry told her. “You just go get some real rest. Okay?"  


"We can stay with him together or I can stay by myself, but I'm not leaving him. I'm sorry. I feel fine," she added quickly when Barry started protesting.  


She felt badly.  


She knew he worried about her and her health and she knew she probably wasn’t making things any easier, but she knew she’d feel even worse if she left her friends like this while she was comfortable at home.  


Iris took Barry’s hand and leaned up to kiss him softly. “We’ll stay together, yeah?”  


Barry agreed with little hesitation after making her promise to actually get some sleep if she stayed.  


 

Barry wound up being the first to knock out that night.  


He didn't seem to mind the stiff chair himself if his deep sleep was anything to go by. Iris and Cisco watched him snore with amusement.  


"He's exhausted," Iris said sympathetically. "Four robberies and two fires in one day is a new record."  


"It couldn't have been easy, him doing it all alone," he said.  


Iris looked over and saw the guilt-stricken expression that was becoming all too common for him.  


"Hey, he knows you need to be here. Going out into the field is the last thing anyone is expecting of you right now," Iris assured him. "You're just fine right where you are."  


"I don't know," Cisco said. "I don't know anymore."  


He stared at Cindy for so long, Iris worried he'd lost himself again.  


"When does it start to get easier?" he finally whispered. "Loving someone that puts themselves in harm's way every single day.  


Iris watched Barry's chest rise and fall slowly, she looked at his long eyelashes against his cheeks, his slightly tousled hair.  


The burn mark on his neck that was fading with each passing hour.  


"I'll let you know when I start to feel it," she said plainly.  


"It's not always easy, but my God it's worth it," Iris reminded him. "Cindy could tell you that herself. She feels it every time you suit up, too."  


"She'll need to wake up to do that first," Cisco said  


"She'll wake up," Iris said. "She needs to. She has to meet Central City's newest residents in six months."  


Iris put a hand on her stomach deliberately and could see when Cisco finally put together what she meant.  


He gasped and shot up in his seat.  


"No freaking way," he said in shock.  


Iris smiled and nodded.  


And Cisco smiled, a wide genuine glowing smile, as he scrambled out of his seat as quietly as he could.  


He pulled Iris up out of her own and hugged her tight. "Oh my God, congratulations! I'm gonna be an uncle!"  


Iris giggled and rubbed his back.  


Cisco tried to send as much love as he could through his arms when he pieced together something she said. 

"Wait a minute, did you say 'residents'? As in more than one?"  


Iris nodded gleefully. "Twins. We're having twins. So Cindy and Linda don't have to fight over which one of them gets to be the godmother."  


And it took Cisco serious willpower not to whoop loudly on the spot.  


He did pull Iris back into a tight hug before letting her sit back in her seat, immediately worried about her overexerting herself.  


"You're the only one to know besides Barry and my dad and Wally, so don't say anything just yet," Iris said once they were both settled again.  


Cisco leaned back and laughed happily. "Twins," he whispered in disbelief.  


"This oddly just became one of the best days ever," he revealed in all seriousness.  


"One of?" Iris joked, so happy to see him smiling. "What was the best day? Cynthia agreeing to move here?" Iris asked.  


"No, that would be the first day she burst into S.T.A.R Labs and knocked me flat on my ass," Cisco revealed.  


And Iris laughed heartily.  


Cisco sighed and looked at his love, still asleep on the bed. "Cindy's going to be _so_ happy when she wakes up."  


Iris looked at him, ecstatic that his optimism had returned as well.  


She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly, "She will, Cisco. And how about if she's not up by tomorrow morning, we blast some Lady Gaga through the stereos."

Cisco snorted and flicked Iris's hair playfully, "Best suggestion I've heard yet."


End file.
